Posts

• Sep 7, 2022

  Let's Read the 4e Monster Manual 3: Lolth

  

  This post is part of a series! Click here to see the others.

  Lolth is likely to be among the very first Big Bads of D&D. I think her first officially published mention was in The Village of Hommlet, an adventure published in 1979 featuring one of her priests as the final antagonist. Since that adventure and the Temple of Elemental Evil that follows it were all based on Gary Gygax’s original campaign, there’s a chance Lolth was was a thing for a few years before that even though she doesn’t appear in the first Monster Manual.

  She would make a personal appearance in 1980’s Queen of the Demonweb Pits, where she officially became the patron goddess of the drow and started getting a lot more publicity. The drow and their goddess would get plenty of spotlight time in that edition and all subsequent ones, for good and ill.

  By the time we get to this entry in the MM3, we’ve already seen most Lolth-associated monster make their appearances, populating the entire range from heroic to epic tier. We also heard a lot about Lolth herself as a goddess in other supplements. This is where we finally get her stats. She is the second “epic end boss” to make an appearance in this book, but not the last.

  The Lore

  Lolth is described by the DMG as the goddess of shadows, lies, and spiders. As we saw in the various Drow entries, back in mythic times she led a major uprising against the other elven gods. Her defeat in that civil war saw her and her proto-elf fey followers banished from the Feywild. Her followers moved to the Underdark, where over time they evolved into the drow. Lolth herself took up residence in the Abyss, crafting a whole layer of it into her personal domain.

  If I remember correctly, some of the divine-oriented supplements hint that Corellon wasn’t entirely innocent in all of this, and that the reason Lolth rose up against him is that he committed a great injustice against her. It wouldn’t be too far off the mark to say that she wasn’t evil back then, and that it was either the trauma of this first betrayal or a few aeons of living in the Abyss that made her so.

  Regardless of her past history, the Lolth of today is certainly Chaotic Evil. Her followers organize themselves into strict hierarchies whose goal is to enable an endless cycle of bloody betrayal: the powerful are free to abuse the weak, and the weak are encouraged to rise in power by murdering their rivals and superiors. Lolth herself doesn’t much trust her followers as we’ve seen in past entries: she created at least two monsters whose main purpose is to infiltrate those hierarchies and keep an eye on their members.

  So, in a way, you could say Lolth is the goddess of the cycle of abuse. She inflicts on her followers the same suffering she went through long ago, and encourages them to do the same to their subordinates.

  Her dominion is the sixty-sixth layer of the Abyss, a place known as the Demonweb. As the name implies it’s a gigantic web strung across a series of titanic pillars. On its strands rest many relics stolen from other worlds, ranging from standard magic items all the way up to entire ruined cities. Beneath the Web is a black void, and at the bottom of this void are the Demonweb Pits, Lolth’s true headquarters. Here is where she holds court.

  The Pits contain a multitude of portals to other layers of the Abyss and to other planes entirely, and they’re one of the reasons why Lolth’s machinations have such a large reach.

  The Monsters

  This entry contains stats not only for Lolth, but also for her Aspect and her Exarch. We’ll describe them in order of level, like we’ve been doing for the other big shots in this series.

  There are no entries for Lolth’s cultists. Most of them are the drow described in the other monster books, as well as the Abyssal Drow and the Chitine from this one. Like the other big bads, Lolth can certainly have cultists from other species as well, using “generic” stat blocks.

  Aspect of Lolth

  Aspects are fragments of a deity’s power and mind. They share the original deity’s personality and goals, but their existence is independent. Though they’re never as powerful as the original deity, they’re still epic-tier. These used to be called “avatars” in previous editions.

  Most gods send their aspects to aid their most favored mortal servants, usually in response to a ritual requesting this aid. Lolth is an exception. Anyone who would have the power to call an aspect of Lolth is sufficiently initiated into her mysteries to know that this is a very bad idea. Instead, they spend their effort making sure she never has cause to send one.

  The reason for this is what Lolth sends her aspects as infiltrators whose goal is to influence drow society in ways that align with her goals. The aspect’s natural form is that of a giant demonic spider, but it can assume the form of a drow. It’s usual MO is to kill and replace an authority figure, and use the victim’s power and influence to fulfill its mission. When forced to fight, it reverts to its true form and “generously” spends the lives of its underlings to buy victory, or at least survival.

  Aspects of Lolth are Level 25 Elite Lurkers with 368 HP. They’re Large Immortal Magical Beasts in their natural forms, but shrink to Medium size when disguised as drow. They have ground and Spider Climb speeds of 6, Darkvision, and Blindsight 5. They have Resist 30 Poison.

  When an aspect hits a creature granting Combat Advantage to it, that creature is weakened and takes 20 ongoing poison damage (save ends both) in addition to suffering all the standard effects of the attack.

  Its basic attack is a bite. It can also shoot Acid Webs (recharge 5+) in a Clost Blast 5. This deals acid damage and slows (save ends). On the first failed save, the target also begins taking 20 ongoing acid damage until they pass a save.

  They also have a nasty power named Worthy Sacrifice, an area burst attack centered on a non-minion drow, spider, or demon ally. This causes the ally to explode into gory webs, reducing it to 0 HP, and attacks the Reflex of every enemy in the blast area. This attack doesn’t damage enemies, but immobilizes all those it hits (save ends). It also creates a zone of webbed gore that lasts until the end of the encounter and immobilizes any non-spider who ends their move inside (save ends). This recharges when the Aspect is first bloodied.

  As minor actions, the aspect can create a Cloud of Darkness that blinds and blocks line of sight for anyone but itself; and Change Shape to appear as a Medium drow. The Insight DC to pierce the disguise is 43, hard even for someone who min-maxed their Insight.

  If anyone moves adjacent to the aspect, it can use its Impaling Legs as an interrupt. This is an attack that deals physical damage and grabs the target. Grabbed targets take 10 ongoing poison damage until they escape.

  Being immobilized doesn’t actually make you grant combat advantage, but being blinded does. The Aspect should fight alongside allies who can flank the immobilized PCs. Worthy Sacrifice should be reserved to use on an ally who’s about to die anyway.

  Eclavdra, Exarch of Lolth

  

  Eclavdra has an interesting publication history. Turns out she is the actual final boss of the GDQ series, the one who used to be behind the giant attacks and everything. And she’s not even a Lolth worshipper there! Facing Lolth in those modules is more of a weird detour than the actual thing that solves the problem. A reference to this makes it into her description here.

  Eclavdra is described by the book as the “quintessential drow”. Another way of putting it might be that no one in the universe has a deeper understanding of Lolth’s mysteries aside from the goddess herself. This means Eclavdra is both Lolth’s greatest ally and her most dangerous enemy.

  Eclavdra has tried to betray Lolth not once, but twice. The first time she worked with the Elder Elemental Eye (that’s the GDQ adventures), and the second she worked with Graz’zt. She still carries a relic of the Eye, the Tentacle Rod, and uses it as her main weapon and implement.

  Despite these previous betrayals, Eclavdra has not only remained in Lolth’s good graces, but her standing seems to have improved. Maybe the Lady of Spiders admires her audacity. When roleplaying Eclavdra, it would not be out of place to take your cues from Vriska and Starscream.

  Eclavdra is a drow, and thus a Medium Fey Humanoid. She’s also a Level 28 Elite Soldier with the Leader keyword. She has the drow’s Speed 7 and Darkvision. She has no special resistances, even to poison, because Lolth is not stupid.

  As she is the Spider Queen’s Emissary, any demon, drow, and spider allies within 5 squares of Eclavdra have a +2 bonus to attack and can shift 1 square as a minor action. Her Tentacle Rod is stretchy and has Reach 3. It can be used in a few special maneuvers in addition to giving her a basic attack.

  Tentacle Lash has the same reach and damage as a basic attack, but on a hit it also strips all poison resistance or immunity from the target for the rest of the encounter. The target is also slowed (save ends). This is an at-will power!

  Insidious Offer is a ranged spell that deals very weak psychic damage for its level… but on a hit it forces one of those interesting choices I like so much. The target must choose between taking an extra 30 psychic damage from the attack, or becoming dominated (save ends). That’s very in theme - it’s not “real” betrayal if it’s not a choice.

  Eclavdra’s minor-action attacks are an unfortunate throwback to the “sexy dominatrix drow” days. Entrancing Beauty is a Close Burst 5 that targets all enemies, deals light psychic damage, and pulls then 2 squares on a hit. On Your Knees is a non-damaging attack with the tentacle rod that makes the target fall prone and prevents them from standing up (save ends).

  Finally, Blinking Escape allows Eclavdra to teleport 6 squares and gain concealment as a reaction when she’s hit by a close or area attack.

  Eclavdra is loathe to risk her own life. She will make use of guile and manipulation to prevent hostilities from initiating, and when they do she will use her underlings as shields. When the tide of battle turns against her, she will attempt to run away.

  Lolth, The Demon Queen of Spiders

  There’s no need to repeat the lore of Lolth here - it’s all up at the start of the article. Mechanically, she is notable for being the first official two-stage boss I’ve seen. I believe she’s also the first actual god to get stats in this edition, and the most powerful endgame boss so far.

  This means she has two stat blocks! The first is her drow form, in which she is a Level 35 Solo Lurker with 634 HP. When she hits 0 HP in this form, she becomes a Huge demonic spider who is a Level 35 Solo Brute with another 634 HP.

  In both forms Lolth has ground, climb, and teleport speeds of 8. She also has Darkvision, Blindsight 20, and is immune to poison. Her remaining abilities are entirely different in both forms.

  In her drow form, Lolth fights with a Scourge, a multi-tailed whip. Its attacks are Reach 3, do some light physical damage, and slide the target 3 squares. They also inflict ongoing 20 poison damage (save ends).

  She can use the Insidious Poison ability (recharge 4+) to automatically force an enemy that’s taking ongoing poison damage to attack an ally. That attack deals a lot of extra poison damage as well.

  She has three minor-action attacks. Lolth’s Kiss is a Reach 1 melee attack that deals a bit less damage than the scourge, but inflicts the same amount of ongoing poison damage. Poison Strands is a ranged attack that deals no immediate damage but immobilizes (save ends). After the first saved throw, this worsens to Restrained. After the second the target begins taking 50 ongoing poison damage until they pass a save to end all of this at once. That’s the deadliest poison in existence! And yeah, both of these are at will.

  The third is an encounter power: Impenetrable Darkfire is a Close Burst 5 that targets enemies. It blinds, inflicts 20 ongoing fire damage, and makes it impossible for them to benefit from cover or concealment (save ends all). It also creates a zone that lasts for a turn, blocks line of sight for everyone but Lolth, and blinds anyone inside who is not Lolth.

  When an enemy hits Lolth, she can use a Dominating Rebuke as a reaction to automatically dominate them for a turn. And as a deity, her Immortal Resilience allows her to immediately roll a save when she is inflicted by any effect a save can end. This is a “No Action” effect, meaning it always happens, giving her a 75% chance of ignoring all save ends effects outright.

  The transformation that happens when Drow Lolth hits 0 HP is also an attack. It targets all enemies in a Close Burst 10. On a hit they become vulnerable 20 to all damage, and are stunned (save ends both). As an aftereffect after passing the save, they’re pushed their speed away from her and are dazed for a turn. After this resolves, Lolth assumes her spider shape, and uses that stat block going forward.

  Lolth the Spider Queen is, as mentioned, a Huge spider and a Level 35 Brute. Her basic attack is now a Bite that deals much stronger base damage and still inflicts 20 ongoing poison damage. Insidious Poison is still here and work the same, but the damage bonus is bigger.

  As a minor action she can spray Burning Webs in a Close Burst 5 that deal acid damage and immobilize (save ends). After failing the first saving throw, victims are restrained instead and take 30 ongoing acid damage.

  Immortal Resilience is still here and works the same. She also has Impaling Legs like those of her Aspect, but they’re Reach 3 and trigger when an enemy moves into reach. A target hit by the attack is restrained and begins taking ongoing 20 poison damage (save ends both).

  Finally, when Spider Lolth is first bloodied, she uses Divine Discorporation to escape. This works automatically, and causes her mind to leave her body and be unable to assume physical shape for a while. This period can last several years, and while Lolth’s power will be greatly diminished during this time she’s still alive and can direct her forces. A bit like Sauron in Lord of the Rings.

  To truly kill Lolth, the PCs must fulfill a condition or complete a quest that’s specific to her. If this happens, then she’s prevented from discorporating and can be fought until truly killed. The book presents three example quests, and the GM is encouraged to come up with something that fits their specific world and campaign.

  The example quests are:

  • The Loom of Fate, an artifact hidden deep within Corellon’s palace in Arvandor. It was once used by Lolth, and it can be used by the PCs to rearrange the threads of her fate and make her defeatable. Corellon knows this but fears to use it. What doesn’t he want you to know?

  • The Egg of Lolth, a mysterious artifact that can be destroyed to seal the gates going out of the Demonweb Pits and thus prevent Lolth’s escape. But then how do you get out?

  • Lolth’s Prison, a demiplane beyond even the Demonweb Pits, where a dread Bone Colossus guards the Pendant of Truth. Brandishing the Pendant before the goddess of lies prevents her from discorporating. How will you get there, and what truths will you find within?

  Final Impressions

  All of these enemies are quite interesting mechanically. I particularly like Lolth’s two-stage-boss design. Her drow form is all about the insidious poisoning of mind and body. Her attacks deal little immediate damage, and the riders are what kills you. The spider form is a lot more direct.

  As a Level 35 monster, a max-level party is going to have some trouble hitting Lolth and avoiding her strikes. This fortunately doesn’t affect saves, but even so the PC’s leaders should have plenty of save-granting abilities and items on hand, because failing those saves has dreadful consequences. Conversely, offense should focus on abilities that deal direct non-poison damage and whose riders are either immediate or last a turn, because she’s almost immune to anything that requires a save.

  I also love Eclavdra’s description as a Starscream figure. That even works as a proper elven surname if you want it to be really on the nose.

• Sep 5, 2022

  Let's Read the 4e Monster Manual 3: Kuo-Toa

  

  This post is part of a series! Click here to see the others.

  Kuo-toa made their 4e debut in the Monster Manual, and would get a MV style upgrade in Dungeon 193. This entry gives us extra stat blocks that don’t overlap with either, even though it came out months before the Dungeon update.

  The Lore

  Kuo-Toa basic lore remains the same. They’re the spear-wielding fish people that live in the Underdark and worship aboleths and other aberrant entities. Their priests, known as whips, are their absolute rulers, and discipline is enforced by individuals known as monitors.

  This entry adds that whips and monitors are able to force their underlings to follow a coherent combat strategy even though those underlings tend to be very mentally unstable. If these leaders fall before their underlings, the group’s tactics will become a lot more erratic. Some will run, some will go berserk, and so on.

  The Monsters

  All kuo-toa in this entry have ground and swim speeds of 6. They are Aquatic and have Darkvision. Their signature ability is Slick Maneuver, a move action that can be used when they’re adjacent to an enemy and allows them to shift 3 squares, though they must end the move still adjacent to the enemy.

  Kuo-Toa Mad One

  As you can guess from the name, Mad Ones are unstable even by the standards of other kuo-toa. They’re afflicted by a form of supernatural insanity that originates in the Far Realm and is contagious. They hang around old ruins and temples, worshipping and guarding ancient artifacts far away from the rest of their society. If one of these is stolen, they’ll give chase to punish the thieves and recover the relic.

  Mad Ones are Level 12 Minion Skirmishers, and notably lack Slick Maneuver. Instead, they have an aura (1) of Spreading Madness that gives all enemies inside 5 Vulnerability to psychic damage. Their Claw attacks damage and allow them to shift 1 square on a hit. They can also release a Psychic Scream in a Close Blast 3. It deals a small amount of psychic damage, though that gets a boost from Spreading Madness.

  Kuo-Toa Drowner

  Drowners specialize on raiding ships and dragging their crews to a watery doom. They wield hooks and barbed nets in combat.

  Drowners are Level 14 Soldiers with 137 HP. Their hooks can be used for basic attacks and for a Dredging Hook maneuver that does the same damage as a basic attack and slides the target 3 squares to another square adjacent to the kuo-toa. Combined with Slick Maneuver, this makes the process of dragging a victim overboard into a sort of spiral dance.

  The Barbed Net can be thrown as a ranged attack vs. Reflex. It deals a bit less damage than the hook, and if the target willingly moves in their next turn they take extra damage. Drowners carry 4 of these nets each.

  Kuo-Toa Lash

  Lashes are a caste of lesser priests, subservient to the whips and responsible for overseeing sacrifices. This includes leading raids to acquire victims. They fight with tridents and a combination of lightning and water-based magic.

  Lashes are Level 15 Artillery with 115 HP. They can use their tridents in melee or throw them in a Lightning Trident attack that’s stronger, deals lightning damage, and causes the weapon to return to the lash. Its main disadvantage is that the range on this attack is only 3/6.

  Their Fill Lungs spell reaches a lot farther. It targets Fortitude, does physical damage, and inflicts ongoing 5 damage. It’s also very scary.

  They can also use a Forked Lightning spell that works as a lightning-based fireball that also blinds on a hit. This recharges whey they’re first bloodied, or when they reduce an enemy to 0 HP.

  Kuo-Toa Cutter

  Cutters are classic skirmishers, trained to slip through enemy frontlines and stab their squishies with serrated daggers. They’re Level 16 Skirmishers with 151 HP.

  The barbed dagger does standard damage for their level, and they can also use it in a Crippling Strike that does less damage but inflicts slowness and ongoing 10 damage (save ends). If someone misses them with a melee attack, the cutter can shift 4 squares and use Barbed Dagger as a reaction.

  Final Impressions

  These go well with the Dungeon 193 updated kuo-toa, and if you’re already using those then you’ll like these ones. No big lore changes here, but the stat blocks are cool enough.

• Sep 3, 2022

  Let's Read the 4e Monster Manual 3: Kraken

  

  This post is part of a series! Click here to see the others.

  Krakens have been in the game since AD&D, but here they get some extra lore.

  The Lore

  At the beginning of time, long before the creation of the first mortals, the Krakens escaped from the Far Realm and entered the middle world and the Astral Sea, trailing the debris of other broken worlds behind them.

  They had a good time for a while, but then a great cataclysm (perhaps the Dawn War) scattered them. In our narrative present most of the surviving krakens are hidden in the deepest trenches of the middle world’s oceans, or slumbering in forgotten corners of the Astral. Every once in a while, though, one of them will leave these dark holes and once again wreak havoc.

  These creatures are extremely intelligent, though their mentalities are very alien to mortals. They’re hostile to mortal sapients for incomprehensible reasons, and are drawn to wherever large groups of sapient minds can be found. When they emerge, groups of cultists soon gather around them, composed both of mortal worshippers and aberrant creatures. Krakens are more than smart enough to command and use these cults to help fulfill their destructive goals.

  So yeah, Krakens are Great Old Ones.

  The Monsters

  We have two varieties of kraken here. One is more geared towards the classic “giant squid attacks ship” scenario, and the other leans more on the Great Old One aesthetic. Both are Gargantuan Aberrant Magical Beasts.

  Sea Kraken

  A kraken that lives in the seas of the middle world. It is said that terrible storms follow in their wake. They love to attack ships, and any vessel grabbed by a Sea Kraken is likely doomed unless it happens to be transporting a party of particularly badass adventurers.

  Sea Krakens are Level 10 Solo Soldiers with 432 HP, which makes them a bit lower-level than I anticipated given their general lore. They have darkvision, a ground speed of 6, and a swim speed of 10. I think this makes them faster in water than most ships.

  Sea Krakens are obviously Aquatic, which means they can breathe underwater and gain a +2 attack bonus against non-aquatic creatures fighting them in the water. They also have Threatening Reach 3. As you might guess, this is a grabby monster. Escaping its grabs requires a DC 26 Athletics or DC 22 Acrobatis check.

  The kraken’s basic attack involves its Crushing Tentacles, which are Reach 3. They damage and grab on a hit, and the kraken can have up to 8 creatures grabbed by this attack. The monster can spend a minor action to sustain all of its grabs and deal an automatic 5 damage to all victims.

  Devourer of Ships is a literal anti-vehicle attack - it can only target vehicles, and it’s what the beast uses to coil around a ship. It deals heavy damage to the target ship and restrains it while the kraken remains within 3 squares of it. While restrained, the ship takes 20 damage at the start of the target’s turn. Its pilot can spend a Standard action to give the ship a saving throw, and if it passes it escapes the grab.

  And don’t worry, krakens don’t have to split their attention between a ship and its crew. Coils of Doom is an at-will power that allows them to use Crushing Tentacles twice and Devourer of Ships once with a single action.

  Once per encounter they can also use an ability named Wavewrack to create a zone in a Close Burst 3 around themselves. This zone is difficult terrain. When an enemy starts their turn inside, they take 5 damage and are slid 2 squares. The Kraken can spend a minor action to slide this zone up to 3 squares. Do note that a Close Burst 3 around a Gargantuan creature is much larger than one around a Medium creature.

  Aside from moving the zone, the kraken can spend minor actions to activate any of the following abilities. Fatal Plunge is an attack against a grabbed creature that deals light damage and slides the target 3 squares. As the name implies, this can allow the kraken to drag them underwater. It can also Fling a grabbed creature, sliding them adjacent to another creature and making a lightly-damaging attack against both. This ends the grab. And finally, it can shoot Venom Bolts that deal poison damage and blind (save ends).

  We’re not done yet! If a grabbed creature damages the kraken, the monster can use Vengeful Constriction as a reaction to deal 5 automatic damage to every creature it’s grabbing.

  Astral Kraken

  Astral Krakens are “sea monsters” in the same way the Astral is a “sea”. Their bodies are made of stars and shadow, their eyes two black lightless voids. Madness precedes them and follows in their wake. You might say they’re closer to their original forms than the sea kraken, as they never had to acclimate to the middle world. You know how some people worship Aboleths as god-like beings older than time? I bet Aboleths worship astral krakens in the same way.

  Astral Krakens are Level 25 Solo Controllers with 925 HP, putting them in the same “weight class” as godforged and primordial colossi, divine and demonic exarchs, and most ancient dragons. It takes the sea kraken chassis and adds madness-themed abilities on top. It has a flight speed of 10, and Blindsight 20. Invisibility won’t save you.

  The kraken’s melee attacks have Threatening Reach 4. Its Tentacles From Beyond work like the sea kraken’s, damaging and grabbing. The escape DC is 41 for Athletics, and 37 for Acrobatics. Sustaining the grab deals 15 psychic damage to all victims.

  Absorb Psyche targets all grabbed victims at once, attacking Will and dealing psychic damage. A hit also grants the Kraken a +5 bonus to attack with Touch of Madness (below) for the rest of the encounter.

  Touch of Madness targets a single creature’s Will. It does no damage, but it forces the target to use its highest-level encounter power against another target of the Kraken’s choice. This happens even if the power was already expended, and doesn’t expend the power if it hasn’t.

  Devourer of Ships is here too, and works much like the Sea Kraken version. Despite its higher accuracy, it deals exactly the same damage. I guess this makes sense, since a ship’s HP varies less than a PC’s as level goes up.

  As a minor action, the astral kraken can release a Nullifying Pulse in a Close Blast 4. This non-damaging attack targets Will and dazes (save ends) on a hit. There are no other minor action attacks, but it doesn’t need any more with such a powerful multi-daze at its disposal.

  Its triggered actions are pretty scary too! When someone misses the kraken, they’re forced to Behold the Horror. This is a reaction attack that targets Will, deals psychic damage, and dominates for a turn. Luckily it can only happen at most once per round, since it’s a reaction.

  Once per encounter, when the kraken is first bloodied, it lets out a Psychic Scream, which covers a large enough area (Close Burst 10!) that it’s likely to target every enemy. This attacks Will, and on a hit it deals psychic damage and stuns (save ends).

  Final Impressions

  When it’s time to release the kraken, these two will not disappoint.

  Sea krakens have a lot of straightforward multi-attack capability, and they’re really hard to shake from your ship once they grab on. If the ship manages to escape, they don’t have to divert their attention from the crew to grab the vessel again.

  The astral kraken’s multi-attack capability is less straightforward than the sea kraken’s, but it has excellent action denial, and can be terrifying if you give it time to set things up properly.

  Both monsters don’t seem to have much defense against being dazed or stunned other than the standard +5 solo bonus to saves, so doing that is a good way to neutralize their firepower. If your party is heavy on the action denial powers, you can make things harder for them by adding a sprinkling of cultist minions and a leader-type that can grant them extra saves.

• Sep 1, 2022

  Let's Read the 4e Monster Manual 3: Jackalwere

  

  This post is part of a series! Click here to see the others.

  I believe jackalweres are another monster from the AD&D days, but this time around they get a new backstory.

  The Lore

  The middle world was a ver dangerous place back during the Dawn War. Its lands were constantly ravaged by splash damage and near-misses from the cosmic struggle between gods and primordials. It was not unusual for ancient mortals to go to war with each other and with the wildlife to secure shelter and food.

  One of these wars was between an ancient human people and a nation of primal jackals - sapient magical beasts that looked like mundane animals. The jackals lost badly and were almost driven to extinction. The few survivors howled their rage and grief to the skies, and to their surprise something answered. The primal spirit known as the Dark Sister hear their cries and gave them her gifts, turning them into the first jackalweres. These gifts give jackalweres the ability to assume human form. Not a single specific human form, like a lycanthrope, but any human form, like a doppelganger.

  Present-day jackalweres organize themselves into small nomadic packs. Some roam and hunt like their distant ancestors did, staying mostly in their natural animal form. Many of them, however, still carry those ancestors’ grudges against humanity and treat them as prey. They use their shapechanging powers to spy on human communities at the edge of the wilderness and to disable their defenses before launching a devastating raid with the goal of killing everyone. And once someone comes in to investigate the carnage it’s not uncommon for them to find a party of “adventurers” doing the same. These adventurers are, of course, the jackalweres who were responsible for the raid and who stuck around to kill the responders.

  The Numbers

  Jackalweres are Medium Natural Humanoids with the Shapechanger keyword. Their signature ability is Change Shape, which allows them to take the form of a Medium jackal or that of a human. Their clothing, armor, and possessions do not change, which means they must either have stashes of gear to don after taking human form, or they must take someone’s place. They can disguise themselves as any individual they’ve seen before, and the DC for seeing through this is 26 - very high for their level.

  Jackalweres have Speed 6, the same as a human.

  Jackalwere Bravo

  Bravos are the younger members of a pack. They’re eager to prove themselves in battle, but their elders have them acting as servants and menial laborers most of the time. When they’re given orders to fight, they do so with enthusiasm and release all of their pent-up anger.

  Bravos are Level 3 Brutes with 56 HP. The Bravo’s Fury trait gives them 1d6 bonus damage against dazed, helpless, or prone creatures. In human form, they fight with Falchions, which are High-Crit weapons. In jackal form, they bite, which does a bit less damage but knocks prone on a hit. Their Howling Frenzy attack allows them to bite twice. If both bites hit the same target, that target is dazed for a turn. This recharges once they’re first bloodied.

  When the PCs fight a pack of bravos, it’s interesting to mix up their forms. They can knock PCs prone or daze them while in jackal form, and their human-form buddies can benefit from this while using the stronger falchion attack.

  Jackalwere Harriers

  Harriers are Level 3 Minion Soldiers with no patience for subtlety. Maybe they’re even younger and more eager members of the pack, or maybe they’re previously wounded warriors forced to fight. Whatever the case, they’ll try to knock their enemies down so their stronger buddies can finish the job.

  Harriers fight with daggers in human form and with bites in jackal form. The bite is a normal minion attack, and the dagger does a bit less damage and makes the target grant combat advantage for a turn. In either form, if the harrier hits someone who’s granting combat advantage, they knock the target prone.

  Jackalwere Deceiver

  This is an experience pack leader that has developed some minor magical powers. They often run some sort of operation that allows them to kill human victims discreetly. Deceivers are Level 4 Controllers wtih 54 HP.

  They fight with bites or short swords depending on their form, and as usual the bite knocks prone. In jackal form they can also use a Vicious Howl that attacks a Close Blast 3, does thunder damage, and knocks prone on a hit. In either form they can use a Gaze of Sleep (recharge 5+) that does no damage and causes the target to fall unconscious (save ends). If the unconscious target takes damage, they get an additional save against the effect.

  Deceivers usually lead a band of bravos and harriers, which means they have an incentive to lean on Vicious Howl and Gaze of Sleep to allow their hench-jackals to deal bonus damage against the PCs.

  Final Impressions

  These monsters are not technically lycanthropes despite their shapechanging ability, and this is something I only really got after reading their stat blocks.

  According to the book, the typical jackalwere pack consists of a mated pair of deceivers leading a mixed band of bravos and harriers. If the pack is currently in disguise, they’ll hire mercenaries to provide additional protection and firepower. They prefer to hire half-orcs, goliaths and warforged for these jobs since they dislike the flesh of these species. This implies they find everyone else tasty.

• Aug 30, 2022

  Let's Read the 4e Monster Manual 3: Intellect Devourer

  

  This post is part of a series! Click here to see the others.

  These brain-dog-looking things first appeared in the original AD&D Monster Manual. This is their 4e debut.

  The Lore

  Intellect devourers are psychic predators that evolved in the Far Realm and spread to the deep places of the world. They roam the underground and the Underdark, hunting other creatures using their psionic powers and draining their mental energy until only an empty husk remains.

  These monsters reproduce by forming larvae from the brain tissue of their slain victims. These larvae are known as ustilagors, and they hunt in packs until their first metamorphosis, which turns them into the adults known as Intellect Predators. Predators who manage to feed well and survive long enough undergo a second metamorphosis into a larger and more powerful form, known as an Intellect Glutton or Brain Collector.

  Each form is smarter than the last, though even ustilagors are dimly sapient. Intellect devourers can communicate via telepathy, but they don’t appear to have much in the way of a culture. They see other sapients as food, not as conversation partners.

  The Monsters

  All intellect devourers are Aberrant Magical Beasts with the Blind keyword. Blindness is an advantage in their case - they’re immune to gaze attacks and to the blinded condition. They can perceive the world and fight PCs just fine with their Blindsight 10.

  Their other signature trait is Mind’s Resilience. If they take damage while under an effect a save can end, they can roll a save immediately.

  Ustilagor

  Ustilagors are Small devourer larvae. They’re individually weaker than an adult, but they hunt in packs and are smart enough to coordinate. And as Level 7 Lurkers with 59 HP, they’re still pretty deadly. They have a ground speed of 6.

  Ustilagors will first try to secure combat advantage against their chosen victim. Attacking from ambush will do this, but if that’s not possible they can do this in two other ways. First they try Cloud Thoughts, a minor action attack that does no damage but makes the ustilagor invisible to the victim (save ends). If that fails they can use a Thought Lash, a ranged attack that does psychic damage and forces the target to grant combat advantage for a turn.

  Once it has CA, the Ustilagor will attack with Clinging Menace, which allows them to jump 4 squares without provoking attacks of opportunity and make a melee attack. This attack does very little damage, but it allows the larva to grab the target. While the grab lasts (Athletics DC 19 or Acrobatics DC 17 to escape), the victim is dazed and takes 5 ongoing damage.

  Ustilagors can also fight with their Claws, which are decent basic attacks. Those will likely be used to fend off the grabbed victim’s allies if they try to interrupt the meal.

  Intellect Predator

  This adult specimen is Medium. It has learned the most famous, and scariest, intellect devourer technique: psychic possession. As a Level 14 Controller with 140 HP, it’s quite dangerous. It has a ground speed of 8.

  Intellect Predators will try to open the fight with a Thought Lance (recharge 5+), a ranged attack that does no damage but stuns for a turn on a hit. If they fail to land this, they’ll use their robust Claws until they can try again.

  If the lance hits, they can use Body Thief on the stunned target. The attack does psychic damage and allows the predator to merge with the target, dominating them. Since the monster is merged, it can’t use its claw attack and occupies the same space as the target. Normally dominated targets are also considered dazed, so they can only take a single action on their turn. However, the predator can grant them an extra move or minor action with the Puppet Master ability, which costs the monster only a minor action. So for all intents and purposes the dominated target moves normally. They have a -2 to the save against this possesion, and when it finally ends the predator appears in an adjacent space.

  If the predator is surrounded it can use Mind Shock to attack every enemy in a close burst 5. On a hit this deals a bit of psychic damage and slides the enemy 1 square, which can open a way for the monster to run away.

  Intellect Glutton

  Intellect Gluttons are also sometimes called Brain Collectors. They used to be a different monster in earlier editions, but now they are a particularly large and old specimen of intellect devourer. Their advanced age only makes them stronger and more dangerous, since they had that much longer to absorb psychic energy.

  Their bodies are protected by a thick translucent carapace with markings that resemble human faces, which leads some to speculate that they extract people’s brains and physically absorb them. This isn’t true, but they’re still terrifying. A glutton can use its enhanced abilities to puppet victims remotely, and to control the bodies of the newly dead.

  Gluttons are Level 21 Controllers with 196 HP. They have the same Speed 8 of their younger relatives, and gain Spider Climb 6. They’re surrounded by a wide Thought Static aura (5) that inflicts a -2 penalty to Will for all enemies inside.

  Their Claws do average physical damage, but it will definitely prefer to stay a bit further away and target people inside its aura with psychic powers. Thought Feast is a non-damaging attack that dominates a target (save ends). The dominated target takes 10 ongoing psychic damage as the glutton feasts on its thoughts, and the monster itself is insubstantial while this effect lasts. Mockery of Life allows it to control a dead creature. It hits automatically (the target is dead!), and makes the creature regain 20 HP and become dominated. This lasts until the end of the encounter or until the creature drops to 0 HP again. Both abilities recharge whenever the monster is not dominating a target with either of them.

  The glutton also has a simpler ability named Mind Rend, a ranged attack that deals psychic damage and slides the target 1 square. Its main advantage is that the glutton can use it once per round as a minor action if it has a creature dominated.

  The above powers mean that gluttons will try to have both a living and a dead creature dominated whenever they can, and when that happens they’ll use Mind Rend twice per turn to support the actions of their thralls. Having a convenient corpse lying around the battlefield as the fight starts is a way to speed this process up. Otherwise the most likely dead target is going to be one of the other monsters in the encounter when it dies.

  Final Impressions

  Puppet Master makes the Intellect Devourer into one of the scarier dominator monsters I’ve seen, because the victim gets full turns and the monster is not targetable while this lasts. Make sure you don’t use more than one or two of them in a single fight, or things are going to get very annoying very fast. Save-granting powers and items are a vital tool when fighting them.

  Gluttons are actually a bit less annoying to handle since you can still attack them while they dominate someone. Mockery of Life is a wonderful power to use on dead artillery enemies after the PCs have moved away from the corpse.

  Intellect Devourers aren’t exactly geniuses despite all the brain theming. They do get smarter as they get older, though, and I think they’re always considered sapient. Considering their level and preferred environments, I think it’s plausible to meet a pack of Ustilagors in the same caves where you’d find troglodytes. Adult devourers might be allied with a balhannoth or with mind flayers, since they eat thoughts, not brains. And I could see a glutton making deals with a colony of swordwings: “I get their brains, you take their stuff”.

subscribe via RSS